Sämmtliche Werke 5: Dramatische Werke

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

55487

Title

Sämmtliche Werke 5: Dramatische Werke

Language

de

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

Set in a small Russian provincial town around 1835, this collection features Gogol's satirical masterpiece, The Government Inspector. Corrupt officials, terrified of an anonymous audit, imagine a fictional inspector arriving to expose their crimes. The play exposes bureaucratic incompetence, venality, and the absurdity of a system where fear drives behavior. A timeless comedy of errors that remains a sharp critique of power and hypocrisy.

Summary up to 500 words

In Nikolai Gogol's *The Inspector General*, a provincial Russian town is thrown into a state of frantic panic upon receiving a letter from St. Petersburg warning that a government inspector is arriving to audit the district. The officials, led by Police Chief Anton Antonovich Skvornitsky-Dmukhanovsky, are convinced the inspector is already present, traveling incognito. They immediately convene a meeting to cover up their extensive corruption, bribery, and incompetence. The hospital is revealed to be filthy with diseased patients, the courtroom is infested with geese, and the judge's associate smells strongly of vodka. Just as they prepare to stage a fake inspection to deceive the real inspector, a stranger arrives: Ivan Alexandrovich Chlestakov, a minor clerk from St. Petersburg sent to collect a pension. Mistaken for the feared inspector, Chlestakov is treated with exaggerated deference and flattery. He quickly learns of the officials' misdeeds and, in a moment of weakness, accepts bribes and agrees to overlook their faults. The townspeople, believing he is the inspector, are delighted. However, Chlestakov's true identity is eventually revealed. The townspeople, realizing they have been duped, turn on him, and he is forced to flee the town in disgrace. The play concludes with a reflection on the nature of truth and the absurdity of the situation, highlighting how fear and greed can lead to the most ridiculous outcomes. Through this farce, Gogol satirizes the bureaucratic decay and moral corruption of the Russian administration, exposing the hollowness of the officials' self-importance and the devastating impact of their collective delusion.

LLM editorial rating

4.2/5

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Categories

• Classics
• Drama